Designed as an introduction for Cree language learners, Beginning Cree acts as a self-study aid--a much-needed resource in today's world where most students cannot speak Cree fluently. Basic grammar units and everyday vocabulary items guide the student through the building blocks of the language, and expansion drills and exercises reinforce lessons and prepare the student for further study. With over 100 delightful illustrations, Beginning Cree grounds the language in traditional and contemporary contexts.

The legacy of the residential school system ripples throughout Native Canada, its fingerprints on the domestic violence, poverty, alcoholism, drug abuse, and suicide rates that continue to cripple many Native communities. Magic Weapons is the first major survey of Indigenous writings on the residential school system, and provides groundbreaking readings of life writings by Rita Joe (Mi’kmaq) and Anthony Apakark Thrasher (Inuit) as well as in-depth critical studies of better known life writings by Basil Johnston (Ojibway) and Tomson Highway (Cree). Magic Weapons examines the ways in which Indigenous survivors of residential school mobilize narrative in their struggles for personal and communal empowerment in the shadow of attempted cultural genocide. By treating Indigenous life-writings as carefully crafted aesthetic creations and interrogating their relationship to more overtly politicized historical discourses, Sam McKegney argues that Indigenous life-writings are culturally generative in ways that go beyond disclosure and recompense, re-envisioning what it means to live and write as Indigenous individuals in post-residential school Canada.

Although food is vital to our daily lives, we tend to be unaware of the particulars of where it came from and how it was produced. We simply go to the market and buy what we need in neatly packaged containers. But what was required to get that food there in the first place? In some societies obtaining food is not merely a matter of going to market. Instead it involves the active participation of community members in its harvesting, distributing, and sharing so that ideally no one goes without. Such is the case of many Indigenous communities, including Puvirnituq, the Inuit settlement in Northern Quebec that is the setting for this book.

Until recently, most residents of this Arctic village made their living off the land. Successful hunting, fishing, trapping and gathering, so vital to people’s survival, were underpinned by the expectation that food should be shared. As the Inuit were in some cases drawn and in others forced to move into settlements, they have had to confront how to accommodate their belief in sharing to the demands of a market economy. Rooted in phenomenological engagements with place, and using the commoditization of country foods harvested from the local environment as a vehicle, the author documents the experiences of an Inuit community as it strives to retain the values rooted in life on the land while adjusting to the realities of life in settlements.

In this thoughtful and well-researched book, the author documents her experiences and personal reactions while living in Puvirnituq. Quoting local residents and drawing upon academic literature, she explores how some Inuit are experiencing the inclusion of the market into their economy of sharing. While the subject of the study is the Inuit community of Puvirnituq, the issues the author addresses are equally applicable to many Indigenous communities as they wrestle with how to incorporate the workings of a monetized economy into their own notions of how to operate as a society. In the process, they are forging new ways of making a living even as they endeavor to maintain long-standing practices. This book will be of interest to anyone concerned with the struggles of maintaining local values in the face of market forces.

The first edition of Making Space for Indigenous Feminism proposed that Indigenous feminism was a valid and indeed essential theoretical and activist position, and introduced a roster of important Indigenous feminist contributors. This new edition builds on the success and research of the first and provides updated and new chapters that cover a wide range of some of the most important issues facing Indigenous peoples today: violence against women, recovery of Indigenous self-determination, racism, misogyny and decolonization. Specifically, new chapters deal with Indigenous resurgence, feminism amongst the Sami and in Aboriginal Australia, neoliberal restructuring in Oaxaca, Canada’s settler racism and sexism, and missing and murdered Indigenous women and girls in Canada.

Written by Indigenous feminists and allies, this book provides a powerful and original intellectual and political contribution demonstrating that feminism has much to offer Indigenous women, and all Indigenous peoples, in their struggles against oppression.

Reviews“Making Space for Indigenous Feminism is an essential resource that places gender justice at the core of our analyses of colonization and decolonization. What we learn is urgent: without addressing the systemic and symbolic character of the gendered violence that Indigenous women, girls, two-spirit, trans, and queer folks disproportionately face, decolonization will remain a man-made, colonial sham.”— Glen Coulthard, First Nations and Indigenous Studies, UBC

“This path-breaking collection brings together leading and emerging voices in the field, presenting critical innovative research that reminds us of the need for a consistent application of feminist analytic tools to understand colonialism and patriarchy as mutually constitutive and reinforcing forces. This collection is essential as an emancipatory tool for decolonization and Indigenous resurgence.”— Heidi Kiiwetinepinesiik Stark, University of Victoria

In her previous books, Literacy Work Stations and Practice with Purpose, Debbie Diller showed teachers how to productively occupy the rest of the class” while meeting with small groups. Now Debbie turns her attention to the groups themselves and the teacher's role in small-group instruction. Making the Most of Small Groups grapples with difficult questions regarding small-group instruction in elementary classrooms such as:

- How do I find the time?
- How can I be more organized?
- How do I form groups?
- How can I differentiate to meet the needs of all of my students?

Structured around the five essential reading elements—comprehension, fluency, phonemic awareness, phonics, and vocabulary—the book provides practical tips, sample lessons, lesson plans and templates, suggestions for related literacy work stations, and connections to whole-group instruction. In addition to ideas to use immediately in the classroom, Debbie provides an overview of relevant research and reflection questions for professional conversations.

A two-edged sword of reconciliation and betrayal, Chinook Jargon (aka Wawa) arose at the interface of "Indian" and "White" societies in the Pacific Northwest. Wawa's sources lie first in the language of the Chinookans who lived along the lower Columbia River, but also with the Nootkans of the outer coast of Vancouver Island. With the arrival of the fur trade, the French of the engag's or voyageurs provided additional vocabulary and a set of viable cultural practices, a key element of which was marital bonding with Indian and m'tisse women. These women and their children were the first fluent speakers of Wawa.

After several decades of contact, ensuing epidemics brought demographic collapse to the Chinookans. Within another decade the region was radically transformed by the Oregon Trail. Wawa had acquired its present shape, but lost its homeland. It became a diaspora language in which many communities seek some trace of their past. A previously unpublished glossary of Wawa circa 1825 is included as an appendix to this volume.

Making Wawa will attract the attention of linguists, especially those involved in contact linguistics and the languages of the Pacific Northwest. It will also interest historians and other scholars interested in Native and gender studies, cross-cultural conflict, and transculturation.

Growing up in the tiny village of Smith, Alberta, Darrel J. McLeod was surrounded by his Cree family’s history. In shifting and unpredictable stories, his mother, Bertha, shared narratives of their culture, their family and the cruelty that she and her sisters endured in residential school. McLeod was comforted by her presence and that of his many siblings and cousins, the smells of moose stew and wild peppermint tea, and his deep love of the landscape. Bertha taught him to be fiercely proud of his heritage and to listen to the birds that would return to watch over and guide him at key junctures of his life.

However, in a spiral of events, Darrel’s mother turned wild and unstable, and their home life became chaotic. Sweet and innocent by nature, Darrel struggled to maintain his grades and pursue an interest in music while changing homes many times, witnessing violence, caring for his younger siblings and suffering abuse at the hands of his surrogate father. Meanwhile, his sibling’s gender transition provoked Darrel to deeply question his own sexual identity.

The fractured narrative of Mamaskatch mirrors Bertha’s attempts to reckon with the trauma and abuse she faced in her own life, and captures an intensely moving portrait of a family of strong personalities, deep ties and the shared history that both binds and haunts them.

Beautifully written, honest and thought-provoking, Mamaskatch—named for the Cree word used as a response to dreams shared—is ultimately an uplifting account of overcoming personal and societal obstacles. In spite of the traumas of Darrel’s childhood, deep and mysterious forces handed down by his mother helped him survive and thrive: her love and strength stayed with him to build the foundation of what would come to be a very fulfilling and adventurous life.

Reviews“Honestly stunning. McLeod’s clear writing lays bare his complicated ties to his family, his lovers and his country in a memoir that moved and haunted me. If you loved Maria Campbell’s Halfbreed, you will love Mamaskatch.”— Eden Robinson, author of Son of a Trickster and Monkey Beach

“Reading the text was like diving into the eternity of dreams and being paralyzed by a nightmare. However, there is sunrise. Told candidly and with heartbreaking honesty, McLeod’s memoir shows how survival beckoned and he held on to the spirit of his ancestors—the love that no one can ever sever. He lives for all of us.— Louise Bernice Halfe, author of Burning in this Midnight Dream

“A compelling read that shows the heartbreaking results of imposed oppression. Darrel has identity problems of many kinds and the result is a life full of chaos. The gradual climb out of that dark place is touching.”— Bev Sellars, former councillor and chief of the Xat’sull First Nation and author of Price Paid.

“Mamaskatch is a profound and tender love song, an elegy to a wounded family, and an unsparing, exquisitely moving chronicle of growing up “Nehiyaw” (Cree). Like the birdsong his mother taught him to understand, McLeod’s voice is magical; it will lift and carry you through bone-breaking grief with grit, optimism and wry, life-saving humour. You will not leave this book unchanged.”— Denise Ryan, journalist, Vancouver Sun

"Darrel McLeod’s Mamaskatch is a heart-wrenching mîwâsin memoir full of vignettes that are so intricately woven that they guide you through with grace, sâkihiwêwin, humour, and maskihkîy. This is a narrative built through continuums that detail the lives of the McLeod family through their queer travails, trans realities, bannock and stew conversations, and a plethora of intergenerational traumas and triumphs. I can feel the warm embrace of the Three Sisters wrapping around me as I read this, that heart-drum beat resounding beneath its literary cadences, the frigidity of the Athabasca kissing my heels, and a narrator who teaches me from his very first passage in this novel that a good story is a medicine song that re-members and re-animates, in true nehiyawewin fashion, those who have paved the way for us and those who for whom we pave. Ay-hay, Darrel, for this lovely work that lulls me back into those old-fashioned country songs that nearly every prairie kokôm raised us on. Mâmaskâc!"— Joshua Whitehead, author of Full-Metal Indigiqueer and Jonny Appleseed

Beginning with the founding of the Hudson's Bay Company in 1670, the fur trade dominated the development of the Canadian west. Although detailed accounts of the fur-trade era have appeared, until recently the rich social history has been ignored. In this book, the fur trade is examined not simply as an economic activity but as a social and cultural complex that was to survive for nearly two centuries.

The author traces the development of a mutual dependency between Indian and European traders at the economic level that evolved into a significant cultural exchange as well. Marriages of fur traders to Indian women created bonds that helped advance trade relations. As a result of these "many tender ties," there emerged a unique society derived from both Indian and European culture.

Today the adjacent villages of Gitanmaax and Hazelton form one of the most picturesque communities in all of western Canada—a tiny, tourism mecca nestled in Gitxsan territory at the foot of an iconic mountain in the heart of the Skeena watershed. But 150 years ago these neighbouring villages were the economic hub of the north when packers, traders, explorers, miners, surveyors and hundreds of tons of freight passed through from Port Essington on the coast east to the Omineca gold fields, from Quesnel north to Telegraph Creek.

Mapping My Way Home traces the journeys of the European explorers and adventurers who came to take advantage of the opportunities that converged at the junction of the Skeena and Bulkley rivers. The author, Gitsxan leader Neil Sterritt, also shares the stories of his people, stories both ancient and recent, to illustrate their resilience when faced with the challenges the newcomers brought.

And finally he shares his own journey from the wooden sidewalks of 1940s Hazelton to the world of international mining and back again to the Gitxsan ancestral village of Temlaham where he helped his people fight for what had always been theirs in the ground-breaking Delgamuukw court case.

It’s British Columbia history, local history, family history and Gitxsan history. The book also includes a chapter on the history of BC’s land issues and a detailed description of Neil’s involvement in the Delgamuukw court case.

This essay collection gathers together writings on the works of Maria Campbell, feminist, activist, visionary, artist, mother, grandmother, and Métis elder. The book talks truthfully of Maria's journey as a writer, how her writing was infected with her experiences with marginalization and discrimination. And how she emerged on the other side having affirmed her identity.

Mark Twain’s Niagara: Book 1, is part 1 of a 2-part series. This 96-page graphic novel is based on the short story “Niagara”, written by Mark Twain in the 1860’s and originally published in 1875. This exciting adventure follows a young Twain as he travels by steam train to the Niagara region. There, he embarks on a journey through legend and history, encountering incredible figures – some living, some long since passed.

A Visual JourneyThis book features a unique visual experience unlike anything you’ve seen before! With every encounter Twain has with the people and places that make up the stunning and rich region of Niagara, the perspective of the story visually changes. You, the reader, experience the most exciting and legendary aspects of Niagara through Mark Twain’s eyes, as he imagines himself virtually living the history in the region that surrounds him.

Each branch of history that Twain experiences is illustrated by an award-winning artist. Divided into chapters - each one illustrated by a different artist - Mark Twain's Niagara is a gorgeous visual adaptation, stunningly created in a way you’ve yet to experience!

This timely book shows teachers how to bring students on board with the “writingest” generation in history. The minilessons in this practical book go beyond grammar, spelling, and conventions to focus on comprehensive written communication as one of the essential skills for success. These fresh minilessons explore how to help students go beyond fuzzy thinking and generic voice and help them organize their thinking, solve problems, identify key ideas, and reflect on different perspectives. The book argues that writing is important to help students communicate ideas to others, as well as document their own thoughts. This buffet of minilessons gives you ideas to add to your teaching repertoire so you can help your students’ work shine a little brighter.

What does it mean to be an Indigenous man today? Between October 2010 and May 2013, Sam McKegney conducted interviews with leading Indigenous artists, critics, activists, and elders on the subject of Indigenous manhood. In offices, kitchens, and coffee shops, and once in a car driving down the 401, McKegney and his participants tackled crucial questions about masculine self-worth and how to foster balanced and empowered gender relations. Masculindians captures twenty of these conversations in a volume that is intensely personal, yet speaks across generations, geography, and gender boundaries. As varied as their speakers, the discussions range from culture, history, and world view to gender theory, artistic representations, and activist interventions. They speak of possibility and strength, of beauty and vulnerability. They speak of sensuality, eroticism, and warriorhood, and of the corrosive influence of shame, racism, and violence. Firmly grounding Indigenous continuance in sacred landscapes, interpersonal reciprocity, and relations with other-than-human kin, these conversations honour and embolden the generative potential of healthy Indigenous masculinities.

maskisina: A Guide to Northern-Style Métis Moccasins is a follow-up to the highly successful wapikwaniy: A Beginner’s Guide to Metis Floral Beadwork. Much like wapikwaniy, maskisina guides readers, step-by-step, on how to create their very own moccasins. It contains detailed photographs along with each step. It also includes a historic overview of moccasins by Sherry Farrell Racette. Patterns for cutting the correct sizes for the soles and vamps are included in the book.